Q: Analyze the speaker’s feelings and the way they’re presented in “ She Was A

Phantom Of Delight”.

ANS: William Wordworth is a renowned poet of the Romantic era; a period

characterized by an emphasis on individualism and a glorification of nature. It is said
that William Wordsworth wrote this poem for his wife, Mary Hutchinson. Later in his life,
Wordsworth said about ‘She Was a Phantom of Delight: “it was written from my heart”.
The poem is a lyrical ballad written with an AABBCCDDEE rhyme scheme, which is
both simple and songlike, creating lyricism and rhythm. The tone of the poem is also
calm and amorous. It is divided into three dizains, each using iambic tetrameter. The
three stanzas are divided into how he met his wife, how they got to know each other
better, and their married life. They also neatly show us the lifecycle of love as an
emotion: from haunting lust and desire, to the appreciation of someone’s company, to
the respect for someone’s value to you and the world.

The title of the poem is the same as the first line; a classical convention in naming
songs. Another noteworthy aspect of the title is the seeming contradiction between the
words “phantom” and “delight”. A ‘Phantom’ or an ‘Apparition’ is a ghost or spirit and a
word typically associated negatively with haunting and causing mischief. Wordsworth
wants us to recognise this connotation as he initially feels she ‘haunt[s]’ his thoughts, as
if he was obsessed with her. However, he is not being haunted in a particularly
bothersome way and the dreams she disturbs are supposedly a ‘Delight’.

The poem starts by saying that this woman “was a Phantom of delight”. This metaphor
sets the tone for the rest of the poem, as the first line characterizes the woman as a
beauty of unreal qualities, and essentially pedestalizes her by imbuing her with
transcendental traits. Essentially, it elevates her position above mere mortals and
makes her seem unattainable and out of reach to him. The poet depicts the woman not
as a creature of flesh and blood but as a phantom or an insubstantial being. He calls her
an “apparition” that can “haunt, startle and waylay”.

The first stanza focuses on her physical attributes, which are described using natural
imagery and pathetic fallacy: with the night and stars representing her hair and eyes
respectively; and every other aspect of her being derived from the beauty of the first
months of Summer. He uses a simile and anaphora to depict her in an ethereal way by
comparing the beauty of her eyes and the darkness of her hair to the sky of the twilight
night - almost an oxymoronic comparison. Nevertheless, the unreal characteristics of
this woman are followed by other very human qualities like her being “cheerful”, “gay”,
and so light hearted that her shape seems to be dancing.
The second stanza narrates how the poet gets a “nearer view” of this woman. She is
still described as unreal, but the lyrical voice is aware of her human qualities too. Using
a metaphor, he says her step was so light when she moved about his home that he was
struck by its virgin felicity. More interestingly he says she is ‘not too bright or good’. At
first glance this is an insult, but he’s praising her for being down to earth and being a
creature of humanity. She engages in the full range of emotions and doesn’t see herself
as above others, even if her husband does elevate her. Essentially, the image of the
woman is now portrayed in a more realistic way, as she experiments with “human
nature’s daily food”. As in the previous stanza, the lyrical voice has a reverential tone
that, with the regular rhyme and meter, emphasizes the hyperbolic descriptions towards
the woman.

The final stanza describes how the poet can see the woman “with eye serene” after
spending more time with her, meaning that he feels that now he can see her in a more
factual way. What is interesting is the paradoxical nature of how he sees her with a calm
or serene gaze, while comparing her to a machine that is pulsing and energetic. The
description in the third no longer begins with connecting her with another world or plane.
In the first she is a ‘Phantom’, in the second she is a ‘Spirit’ first and then a woman.
Now she is a ‘Being’ and a ‘Traveler between life and death’. He now sees her as being
an earthly being and recognizes now the extreme level of praise for her character.
Wordsworth utilizes alliteration in order to create an aural effect and to emphasize the
softness of the woman.

Moreover, she is seen as a “perfect Woman” that is balanced and does everything in
the right manner; she is thoughtful and kind and she has endurance, foresight, strength
and skill. She is a perfect being who has been designed nobly by the creator and she
can “warn, comfort, and command” in equal measure. The final two lines bring the poem
back on itself. He begins with an idea of her being otherworldly, and he returns to this
when he considers the perfection of her earthly qualities to give her an ‘angelic light’
and make her a ‘Spirit still’. He is again using hyperbole and metaphor to say that she is
still in his dreams and like an angel to him. “Spirit still” is also an alliteration.

The poem basically serves to emphasize that William Wordsworth loves his wife and
has loved her since the moment he saw her. Readers go from the awe of her physical
attributes, to a gentler appreciation for her as a person and then a respectful admiration
for her qualities as a wife and mother. She is angelic and serene but also very firm. She
keeps him happy, and he can never take her out of his mind.